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Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Last Suppers - Diane Mott Davidson

Well after having voiced my worries that this series wasn't really as good as I was hoping for in my review of the last book I decided to pick this one from the TBR pile and see how it went.

It should be the happiest day of Goldy the caterer's life. After years of putting the disaster of her first marriage behind her, she has finally found the courage to love again. Soon she'll be walking down the aisle of St. Luke's Episcopal Church to wed the man of her dreams, Tom Schulz, a homicide detective who shares Goldy's passions for preparing food and solving crimes.

But moments after Goldy's put the finishing touches on the scrumptious wedding feast, and just before the ceremony begins, she receives an urgent phone call from the groom. The wedding is off, and the reason is a killer.

In The Last Suppers, Diane Mott Davidson mixes irresistible suspense with delectable humor to create a five-star treat for readers and cooks alike. Included are Goldy's original recipes for such delicious dishes as her heavenly Dark Chocolate Wedding Cake with White Peppermint Frosting, savory Shrimp on Wheels and zesty Fusilli in Parmesan Cream Sauce. The Last Suppers is a mystery with a gourmet twist--recipes no one can resist.

I'm afraid I didn't much like it. Goldy's fiance is kidnapped on the day of her wedding after having found the priest murdered so the mystery in this book is about who killed the priest and kidnapped Tom.

I had several problems with the book. First that is mostly set around the Episcopal Church and it's members. I have no knowledge of that church so I wouldn't know how it's members are supposed to deal with each other and their beliefs. Since I'm not a very religious person I think it was a bit too much to have the whole book revolving around that. Then Goldy doesn't seem distressed enough by the kidnapping, Tom could be dead for all we know and she keeps questioning potential suspects with the same cool head as it if were someone else. She is also cooking a lot, I know food is the theme of these mysteries but it felt a bit like she was going on with doing her regular things instead of being nervous and stressed and scared.

Then the mystery part, since I know next to nothing about the Episcopal Church I really didn't understand what was at stake for it's members and so I only discovered the murderer in the end like everyone else. Of course by the final chapters I wasn't really interested in what was going on anymore. I was very disappointed and I'm not sure I'll pick another book of the Goldy series, at least not any time soon.